'arenicola' originates from Latin, specifically the compound 'arenicola', where 'arena' meant 'sand' and '-cola' meant 'dweller'.

'arenicola' was formed in Classical Latin as a compound of 'arena' + '-cola'; the term was later adopted in modern biological taxonomy (Linnaean system) as the genus name 'Arenicola' for certain lugworms and entered English usage as a scientific name.

Initially, it meant 'sand-dweller' in Latin; over time it became established as the scientific genus name for particular marine lugworms, retaining the core idea of 'living in sand'.